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Sustainable Urbanisation in cities

This domain will initiate and sustain dialogue among the various stakeholders (private and public sector, architects, practitioners, policy maker), on nature-based solutions in the context of sustainable urbanization in cities and human well-being. The dialogue will address the available opportunities for existing and new NBS associated with materials, buildings and infrastructure in cities. The incorporation of NBS in building and at district level will also be explored. The generation of co-benefits through greening cities in relation with climate change adaptation and mitigation will be examined as well as the role of cultural heritage in renaturing cities and how to incorporate existing knowledge from historic buildings and districts in restoration with nature. The role and effectiveness of NBS in advancing sustainable and resilient infrastructure development and upgrade will be explored together with replication strategies for renovating cities with nature. Methods for robust monitoring of the performance and assessment of the impact of deployed NBS will be examined.

Within the context of enhancing sustainable and livable urban environments, one aim is to establish multifunctional green infrastructure (GI). We argue that in order to successfully plan and manage the development of GI, an inclusive and future-oriented stance concerning the needs and expectations of urbanites is required. By using green roofs as an example, the aim of this paper was to offer insights into how people envisage novel GI in urban environments and to reveal the scope of meanings and values people attach to these kinds of green infrastructure.

Growing and densifying cities set challenges for preserving and enhancing sufficient and good quality green urban environment. Rooftops offer vacant room for additional urban greening that may contribute to the well-being of people and the liveability of cities, but this potential lacks empirical support. In spite of the fact that even small green spaces produce, for example restorative experiences, the literature concerning the experiential and recreational benefits of green roofs is still scarce.

The idea of ‘nature-based solutions’ (NBS) is now being used to reframe policy debates on biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, and the sustainable use of natural resources, among other issues. While interesting and potentially useful for those debates, it is a concept that still needs to be clearly defined; its use is not confined to discussions about ecosystem services and natural capital.

In this paper, we reflect on the implications for science, policy and practice of the recently introduced concept of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), with a focus on the European context. First, we analyse NBS in relation to similar concepts, and reflect on its relationship to sustainability as an overarching framework. From this, we derive a set of questions to be addressed and propose a general framework for how these might be addressed in NBS projects by funders, researchers, policy-makers and practitioners.

The URBES project has been awarded the opportunity to present their work in an animated video as part of the BiodivERsA Prize for Excellence and Impact.

The URBES project demonstrated, for the first time at this scale, the importance and the value of ecosystem services and nature-based solutions provided by urban biodiversity in European cities, enabling the authorities to work with these concepts in their urban planning strategies.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) aim to help societies to address a variety of environmental, social and economic challenges in sustainable ways. They are actions which are inspired by and supported by nature. Some involve using and enhancing existing natural solutions to challenges, while others are exploring more novel solutions, for example, based on how non-human organisms and communities cope with environmental extremes.

Workshop with Horizon 2020 SC5 programme committee representatives and Member States and Associated Countries (MS/AC) experts
NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS
2 June 2017 9:00-16:00
(CDMA building, SDR1-2, Rue du Champ de Mars, 21, Brussels)
Purpose of the workshop - To strengthen an informal but targeted dialogue on NBS between MS/AC and Commission services. It should increase the shared awareness, understanding and ownership of and engagement in a NBS R&I Roadmap for the promotion, upscaling and mainstreaming of NBS into policies and operations at various scales.